UFC Des Moines brought a battle between an Ultimate Fighter winner and a former LFA champion as Ryan Loder took on Azamat Bekoev on Saturday night in Iowa.
Loder (7-1) took home the middleweight crown at The Ultimate Fighter 32 defeating Robert Valentin to get the prestigious title. He was scheduled to face Cody Brundage in March but withdrew. Now he faced Bekoev in Iowa.
Bekoev (19-3) hadn’t lost a fight since 2021 coming into the fight with Loder on a 7-fight win streak. The former LFA champion won his UFC debut via TKO over Zach Reese at UFC 311. Now he looked to add Loder to his resume and continue building momentum at 185 pounds.
Round 1 Loder got right to looking for the body lock and going for takedowns, but Bekoev did not make it easy doing well to scramble out of the first takedown attempt. A big right hand put Loder on skates and Bekoev rushed in to try to finish the fight.
Loder was able to recover enough to start firing strikes back, but another flurry of bombs from Bekoev proved to be too much for the American ending his night. Another first round finish for Azamat Bekoev.
Official Result: Azamat Bekoev def. Ryan Loder via R1 TKO, 2:44
